Re: 2017 Season Expectations

It would be great to see Holler have some early success. It is hard to know how he will perform.

Hopefully, Zilverberg has gotten stronger. He seemed to have good quickness for the weight last year just needed a little more strength.

D. Kocer is a talented kid. That would be big win for him.

Wrestlestats has it 7 matches to 3. I could see 6 to 4 ISU, we would have to be wrestling really well to have it 5 to 5. ISU has several weights where they have a chance at bonus point too.

I hope I am wrong and SDSU takes 6 matches to win the dual. I have heard this is the best off-season the team has had since Bono has been here. I hope it shows in the performances and guys takes some big strides.

Re: 2017 Season Expectations

It would be great to see Holler have some early success. It is hard to know how he will perform.

Hopefully, Zilverberg has gotten stronger. He seemed to have good quickness for the weight last year just needed a little more strength.

D. Kocer is a talented kid. That would be big win for him.

Wrestlestats has it 7 matches to 3. I could see 6 to 4 ISU, we would have to be wrestling really well to have it 5 to 5. ISU has several weights where they have a chance at bonus point too.

I hope I am wrong and SDSU takes 6 matches to win the dual. I have heard this is the best off-season the team has had since Bono has been here. I hope it shows in the performances and guys takes some big strides.

#getjacked

This meet could easily go 9-1 in favor of ISU. Here is how I would rank my order and level if confidence of our guys producing a win.

197 Rotert's our only true favorite
157 I think Holler will win even though we haven't seen a lot of him because of injuries
149 Kocer beat Meeks 1-0 last March. I think his mat skills get him the win again
133 Gross can win this but if I was betting I'd have to go with Hall. I just rewatched Gross's match with Chishko(VT) last year. Chishko is great on his feet and he got in on a bunch of shots and finished enough to win 10-5. I see Hall being able to do the same. Gross allows guys to get to his legs and then goes into scramble mode. You let good guys in on your legs enough times and they will finish. I remember listening to an interview with Kevin Jackson after winning the Olympics and he spoke about not letting his opponents touch his legs. He said "because if they can't touch my legs they can't take me down". I watch ISU's media day and they interviewed Hall and he addressed that this year he will be able to go all 7 min. We'll see.
165 Pestano is going be big and strong. Zilverberg is going have trouble with that I think.
174 Weatherspoon beat Kocer twice last year. We'll see if Kocer can turn the table on him
125 Gillette lost 10-4 to him last year. Doesn't seem likely that he'll be able to get it done.
184. Two years ago at the Dak, Downey beat Rotert 9-6 at 197. Mueller will have trouble here.
141 Moreno hurt his shoulder last in late January and decide to get surgery right then and then come back full strength in the fall. I don't think we have anyone that can beat him at this weight.
285 Smith is a very agile big man and he will take shots and I don't think Macki can beat him.

So I have a lot of confidence that we can win 3 matches. Gross, Zilverberg and D.Kocer are our next best chances.
All I know is that it should be an entertaining dual. It's early in the season and we'll see who is better prepared.
Everyone gets tired in their first match of the year. This will surely play a role in the outcome.

Re: 2017 Season Expectations

Gross will likely be favored in his match if reports from ISU's media day are correct.

"Cyclone fans will have to wait a tad bit longer to watch Hall than the other wrestlers because the NCAA is requiring him to sit out the first two meets (South Dakota State and North Dakota State) of the year." You can find the information here.

Re: 2017 Season Expectations

It seem like the program is going in the right direction. Record win streaks last year, five wrestlers making to NCAA's.

Projected Lineup:

125 - Gillette - was on the edge of being a NQ, I am sure it won't be much easier this year but hopefully being at 125 the whole year he will be well adjusted to the weight and make some strides.

133 - Gross - Round of 12 last year, seemed to wrestle a lot better second half of the season and has continued this off-season, he did look a little small at 141 against some opponents so 133 may be a better weight for him, it will be a challenging weight with several top wrestlers back but I think anything short of All-American would be disappointing.

141 - Andrade/Pohlmeyer - it looks like we may put out someone undersized at this weight if it is Pohlmeyer hopefully he gains some good experience for the future.

149 - A. Kocer - NQ last year, he had a solid year last year hopefully he can have a great senior year.

157 - Holler/Zilverberg/Peterson - assuming Zilverberg stays up at 165, I would pencil in Holler. A talented wrestler who has struggled to stay healthy in the past. It would be great to see Holler have a breakout season.

165 - Zilverberg/Holler/Peterson - started out the season really well last year after jumping up to 165. Was injured part way through the season, not sure if he was impacted the rest of the season. He moves well compared to other 165's, hopefully he has put on some muscle and stay healthy.

174 - D. Kocer - NQ last year, made some nice strides last year. Hopefully, he continues to develop as a wrestler, he seems pretty athletic but will need to develop to make the podium.

184 - Mueller/Ayers/Carlson - it seems like Mueller is the front-runner for the spot, I think Ayers is red-shirting. Mueller looked pretty athletic at the Dak last year, but still a little raw. Hopefully, he is working hard this off-season. It seems like he has some potential.

197 - Rotert - NQ last year, he should be ranked at the edge of the top 10 going into the season. I think for his season to be considered a success he will need to make the podium.

285 - Macki - battled hard against some good competition. Hopefully, he is developing some offense so he turn some those close losses in to victories.

Am I missing any potential starters?

Dual season:
Expectation: Beat NDSU and Wyoming, lose to top teams
Continued growth: Beat Iowa State or Oklahoma
Huge strides: Beat both Iowa State and Oklahoma or knock off another top 15 team

I think the team should continue to be a solid dual team. In order to make strides at NCAA's, wrestlers will need to make the podium. I think there is a good chance Bono gets his first All-american at SDSU this year, if he get 2 or more that would be huge.

Well from a dual standpoint it looks like we have taken huge strides. Hopefully we don't have any let downs and beat everyone except Virginia Tech. This team is making a believer out of me.

Hopefully we finish off the season with a great national tournament. It seems like the team's top individuals have a lot more confidence than they did a year ago. I would be surprised if we didn't get at least 5 in the tournament. We should get 1 or 2 AA's and 3 or 4 would not be shocking. Excited for tournament time. Hopefully the team can stay healthy.

Re: 2017 Season Expectations

It seem like the program is going in the right direction. Record win streaks last year, five wrestlers making to NCAA's.

Projected Lineup:

125 - Gillette - was on the edge of being a NQ, I am sure it won't be much easier this year but hopefully being at 125 the whole year he will be well adjusted to the weight and make some strides.

133 - Gross - Round of 12 last year, seemed to wrestle a lot better second half of the season and has continued this off-season, he did look a little small at 141 against some opponents so 133 may be a better weight for him, it will be a challenging weight with several top wrestlers back but I think anything short of All-American would be disappointing.

141 - Andrade/Pohlmeyer - it looks like we may put out someone undersized at this weight if it is Pohlmeyer hopefully he gains some good experience for the future.

149 - A. Kocer - NQ last year, he had a solid year last year hopefully he can have a great senior year.

157 - Holler/Zilverberg/Peterson - assuming Zilverberg stays up at 165, I would pencil in Holler. A talented wrestler who has struggled to stay healthy in the past. It would be great to see Holler have a breakout season.

165 - Zilverberg/Holler/Peterson - started out the season really well last year after jumping up to 165. Was injured part way through the season, not sure if he was impacted the rest of the season. He moves well compared to other 165's, hopefully he has put on some muscle and stay healthy.

174 - D. Kocer - NQ last year, made some nice strides last year. Hopefully, he continues to develop as a wrestler, he seems pretty athletic but will need to develop to make the podium.

184 - Mueller/Ayers/Carlson - it seems like Mueller is the front-runner for the spot, I think Ayers is red-shirting. Mueller looked pretty athletic at the Dak last year, but still a little raw. Hopefully, he is working hard this off-season. It seems like he has some potential.

197 - Rotert - NQ last year, he should be ranked at the edge of the top 10 going into the season. I think for his season to be considered a success he will need to make the podium.

285 - Macki - battled hard against some good competition. Hopefully, he is developing some offense so he turn some those close losses in to victories.

Am I missing any potential starters?

Dual season:
Expectation: Beat NDSU and Wyoming, lose to top teams
Continued growth: Beat Iowa State or Oklahoma
Huge strides: Beat both Iowa State and Oklahoma or knock off another top 15 team

I think the team should continue to be a solid dual team. In order to make strides at NCAA's, wrestlers will need to make the podium. I think there is a good chance Bono gets his first All-american at SDSU this year, if he get 2 or more that would be huge.

Looking back at expectations coming into the season, this season was a huge success. Picking up dual meet wins again Iowa State and Oklahoma was huge.

More importantly we performed well at NCAA's. Having an NCAA finalist with two more year of eligibility is huge for the exposure of the program and recruiting. Then having A. Kocer be on the podium as a senior is big, letting the team know with hard work they can be on the podium too. Before Rotert's injury, it seemed like he was wrestling the best of his career and had a very good chance to all-american.

Next year should be a great year for the jackrabbits. If everyone stays healthy, the team should improve as a tournament team having four returning NCAA's qualifiers. As a dual team, there are a few question marks with having to fill 125 and 149. Hopefully, we will see big strides in the younger guys as we will have a lot guys graduating next year.

Re: 2017 Season Expectations

Originally Posted by fan4wrestling

Looking back at expectations coming into the season, this season was a huge success. Picking up dual meet wins again Iowa State and Oklahoma was huge.

More importantly we performed well at NCAA's. Having an NCAA finalist with two more year of eligibility is huge for the exposure of the program and recruiting. Then having A. Kocer be on the podium as a senior is big, letting the team know with hard work they can be on the podium too. Before Rotert's injury, it seemed like he was wrestling the best of his career and had a very good chance to all-american.

Next year should be a great year for the jackrabbits. If everyone stays healthy, the team should improve as a tournament team having four returning NCAA's qualifiers. As a dual team, there are a few question marks with having to fill 125 and 149. Hopefully, we will see big strides in the younger guys as we will have a lot guys graduating next year.

We'll take our lumps at 125 and 149 with some younger inexperienced wrestlers, but by the end of the season they should be okay. They did GREAT wrestling at the other tournaments this winter. I would also expect great competition for spots at 141, and 157 with the number of wrestlers who red-shirted and who are incoming freshman in that weight range. We certainly have a bit of a log jam at those middle weights. I'm also interested to see how it shakes out between Ayers and Mueller next year at 184. Regardless, its amazing that we have are having this conversation considering that we struggled to field an entire line-up before Bono.